Novak Djokovic gets his hands on the Shanghai Masters trophy again after seeing off Juan Martin Del Potro in the final.

Story highlights

Novak Djokovic retains Shanghai Masters crown

Beats Juan Martin Del Potro in thrilling three set final

20th straight win for the Serbian in China

Del Potro has qualified for ATP World Tour Finals in London

China is proving home from home for Novak Djokovic as he demonstrated yet again by rebuffing the considerable challenge mounted by Juan Martin Del Potro to retain his Shanghai Masters title Sunday in another three set classic.

Last year Djokovic also went the distance to beat Britain's Andy Murray in a riveting final rated as one of the best matches on the ATP Tour in 2012, this time around he showed all his battling qualities to see off the Argentine ace 6-1 3-6 7-6 at the Qizhong Tennis Center.

Sixth seed Del Potro had stunned new World No.1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, but could not repeat these heroics despite forcing a third set.

Neither player could gain the crucial break of service in the decider, but Djokovic opened up 2-0 and 4-2 leads in the tie-break and won the title with a backhand winner down the line after two hours 33 minutes.

It was his seventh of the season and came hard on the heels of winning the China Open last week where he beat Nadal in the final.